


(Un)Missed Opportunities

by crescent_woods



Series: kiss prompts [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Accidental Confession, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, F/M, i wrote this while depressed and studying precalc, kind of angsty? if you squint a lil, kiss prompt, mari is dating adrien but Uh Oh, shes in love w luka, sorry this is like the Big Cliche
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:13:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24227158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crescent_woods/pseuds/crescent_woods
Summary: Marinette Dupain-Cheng accidentally confessed her love to Luka in her boyfriend's car. She expects to at least have a night to collect her thoughts before sitting down with him, but of course fate has better ideas. Marinette and Luka end up using the same car - still her boyfriend's - at the end of the night. Like the gentleman he is, Luka doesn't pressure her to talk, but he's always had a way with words that makes it so easy for Marinette to share.
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: kiss prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748710
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	(Un)Missed Opportunities

**Author's Note:**

> this was sort of a gift to myself for being officially done with high school! the prompt was for 'in a vehicle' and 'sad or hurt feelings'. also posted on my tumblr, @crescent-woods!

Marinette hadn’t expected it to come out this way. She thought she would be able to sit down with Luka, maybe at her kitchen table or on the couch. Not crammed in the backseat of Adrien Agreste’s town car. Of all places, it had to be her damn boyfriend’s fancy car.

It wasn't that Marinette didn't want to have this conversation. She did. So, so badly, she wanted to talk to him. To the point of practicing what she would say in front of the mirror. She just hadn’t prepared for it to happen at this exact moment. The problem was, she hadn’t been able to get her head together and say what she actually _meant_ before she ran out of the car.

That’s how she rationalized her actions. She blurted out a love confession to her best friend, rockstar hottie _Luka Couffaine_ , and then bolted, because she was nervous. Right.

What else was she supposed to do? The party had already started. She couldn’t exactly sit in a car bought by the man she was _currently_ dating and explain to the man she _wanted_ to date that she _couldn’t_ date him. Because reasons.

Marinette decided that she wouldn't allow herself to so much as look at Luka through the party. This was a big deal for her, and for Adrien, and she wouldn't let her stupid emotions ruin this for either of them. He deserved a break.

That didn't stop a certain pair of attentive eyes from following her as she talked and danced. More than once he had tried to talk to her, and she had to make up a new excuse each time. Adrien was starting to get suspicious and Luka was becoming more irritated with each failed attempt.

She supposed it wasn't surprising when Adrien stayed at the party later than they had planned. He always enjoyed these parties more than her. But that left her alone in the damn car with Luka. Despite that Luka's apartment was on the complete opposite side of town from the one she shared with Adrien. 

Even less surprising was when he asked her, “Do you want to talk about what you said?” In the same calm, open tone he always used. He sat in the seat in front of her, his hands resting in his lap, eyes softly trained on her body. “It’s alright if you don’t," he continued at her silence, "nothing has to happen."

“It’s not- I mean, how- _ugh_ ,” she groaned. “How are we supposed to talk about this? I've loved the same man since we were _kids_! We were going to get married and adopt a hamster and have 3 adorable children." Her hands were waving around at what he could only imagine were glimpses of her imaginary future.

"The oldest two would be a wonderful mix of both of us, but the baby would be a complete copy of him. It wouldn't matter which parts of him they got, since every part of him is so wonderful. And we would run the company together so he could keep modeling while I designed. When we had free time we could help at the bakery. And at home we could get into little fights with the ingredients like they do in Hallmark movies that ended with a kiss and an _I love you_." She looked at him again, although she couldn't see through her tears. "And we would finally know that we found real love with each other."

Marinette paused, rattling a breath as her hands moved to rubbing the tears from her face. “But we never were in love, not really. This whole time, I knew something wasn't right. None of those pieces of our future fit into place. And now I know why."

Luka was still. Completely still, as he stared at the girl who became the woman he loved.

"I love Adrien, but I was in love with _you_. This whole time, it was _you_ I wanted to marry and _you_ I wanted a hamster with and _you_ I want to make 3 perfect babies with that are the perfect combination of us. And the exact traits wouldn't have mattered, except for our baby boy who would have been exactly like you even though he looked exactly like me," she croaked. Another pause as she dropped her hands into her lap.

"It was _you_ , Luka." She looked in his direction, still unseeing through the tears. "It was you all this time, and now it's too late. You have your career and you probably wouldn't like me now anyway. You have a whole future ahead of you, and all I've got is baggage and mess, and it’s too late. It’s all too late. All because I messed up and ruined this for both of us an-

" _Marinette Dupain-Cheng_."

That shut her up.

Luka moved between their seats to crouch at her huddled form. “It’s not too late.”

He grabbed both of her hands with one of his while the other wiped her fresh tears away. “It’s never too late for us."

When had he started crying? 

"I would wait for you until the stars collapsed and we were nothing but stardust.” 

“But why? Why for me?” Marinette pulled their intertwined hands to her chest. “There are so many other people out there. Prettier, smarter, successful, _better_ people in the world that you could love. What makes me special?”

“I love you.” Luka punctuated every word. “I have loved you since I first met you on my mother's boat, Ma-Ma-Marinette. I have loved you for eight excruciatingly long years, and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon."

Marinette started crying again.

“You are the absolute epitome of _better people_. I couldn’t dream of a better you if I tried. You are an _extraordinary_ woman, Marinette. I don’t know what’s keeping you from believing that. Always and forever 'clear as a music note and sincere as a melody'. You remember that?" He chuckled at her wide eyes. "Well, it’s still true. Your song hasn’t left my head, or my heart, since that very first day. There is _nothing_ you need to do to deserve my love, Marinette, you’ve already got it.”

He could see the car approaching his apartment. 

"You are special completely on your own. No person or event could change that."

They stayed connected until Marinette croaked, “I-I don’t know. I just, like… I _don’t know_ , Luka.” Her eyes returned to her lap, their entwined hands. The driver called out for Luka’s apartment.

“You don’t want to talk about this today, that’s fine. We don’t have to ever talk about what you said, or what I said, if you don’t want. If you do - tomorrow, next week, whenever - I’ll be there. Always.”

Luka stepped out of the car and began walking to the steps of his building, tears still clinging to his lashes.

“Luka, wait!” He barely had time to turn around and reach for Marinette as she stumbled out of the car.

She grabbed for his jacket and kept her hands there as he steadied them on the curb. “Thank you. I know I’m not the easiest person. There’s a lot of stuff that comes with being me, or being around me, or being _with_ me, and you always accepted it, no matter what." Her voice was shaking almost as much as her body. "Thank you, Luka Couffaine.”

Marinette reached her hands up to stroke his cheeks with her thumbs. “Thank you for being an absolutely wonderful person. I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” she huffed a laugh and then sniffed against the tears threatening her again. “I don’t know what plots or fates or beings decided to put me here and then to put you here at the same time, but I thank them every day.”

Quick as the mouse kwami she had once used, Marinette pressed a kiss to Luka's cheek that her thumb had just vacated. All the poor boy could do was stare wide-eyed as she scrambled back into the car.

**Author's Note:**

> who's learned that i can't write summaries to save my life? me! anyways, i love every one of you guys who has read and left kudos/comments on these prompts. if you noticed any spelling errors feel free to comment bc i am Bad at editing :(((


End file.
